A new study found that exercise does more to maintain substantial weight loss than diet. The findings show that people who successfully lose weight rely on physical activity to maintain energy balance (rather than chronic dietary restriction) to prevent weight gain. In the study, people who successfully lose weight are those who maintain a reduced body weight of 30 kilograms or more for more than a year.
The main findings are:
* Total calories burned (and consumed) per day by people who successfully lost weight was significantly higher (300 kcal/day) compared to subjects with normal body weight controls, but was not significantly different from that in overweight/obese subjects.
* Notably, of total calories burned, the amount of physical activity burned by people who successfully lost weight was significantly higher (180 kcal/day) compared to both those of normal body weight and those who were overweight/obese. Despite the higher energy from moving a greater body mass incurred by overweight/obese individuals, people who successfully lose weight burned more energy in physical activity, suggesting they exercise more.
* This is supported by the fact that the group of people who successfully lost weight also showed significantly higher levels of steps per day (12,000 steps per day) compared to participants with normal body weight (9,000 steps per day) and participants who were overweight / obesity (6,500 steps per day).
The study looked at successful people who lost weight compared to two other groups:controls with normal body weight (Body Mass Index (BMI) comparable to the current BMI of the people who successfully lost weight); and overweight/obese controls (whose current BMI was comparable to the weight loss BMI of the people who successfully lost weight). The people who successfully lost weight had a body weight of about 150 pounds, which was comparable to the normal weight controls, while the overweight and obese controls had a body weight of about 213 pounds.
